Eric White 
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts: 9628
 | | 01-13-2007 09:17 PM |
| Mailer just arrived, released this time around:
2004 Cabernet, priced at $480/case for orders before 3/15, $540 per case thereafter. Also avaialble at $45 per bottle.
2005 Zinfandel, $24 per bottle
2004 Petite Syrah, $35 per bottle, limit of two bottles
Large formats:
1.5L 2004 Cabernet, $100
3L 2004 Cabernet, $350
Also assorted library releases available at assorted prices.
I'm in for the Cab, Zin, & Petite, as usual. | | | 2008: the end of an error |
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kimber
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1259
| | 01-13-2007 09:59 PM |
| I just love the '04 Zin. Anyone know if the '05 is even better? | | | |
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LC17SMP
Cypress, Ca.
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1055
| | 01-14-2007 02:18 AM |
| EW, no 500ml bottles offered? I thought there was talk of possibly offering these. | | | LC17SMP | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts: 9628
| | 01-14-2007 03:42 AM |
| Quote:
EW, no 500ml bottles offered? I thought there was talk of possibly offering these.
Sorry, I totally forgot to mention that. 500ml bottles of the 2004 Cab are available at $30 per. | | | 2008: the end of an error | |
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rickym13
los angeles
Wine Thief
Posts: 2935
| | 01-14-2007 06:55 AM |
| Quote:
Quote:
EW, no 500ml bottles offered? I thought there was talk of possibly offering these.
Sorry, I totally forgot to mention that. 500ml bottles of the 2004 Cab are available at $30 per.
very cool | | | |
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LC17SMP
Cypress, Ca.
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1055
| | 01-15-2007 01:53 AM |
|  I will certianly get a few of those. Now where is my mailer? | | | LC17SMP | |
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AlexRed
Northern VA
Wine Thief
Posts: 2674
| | 01-15-2007 04:41 PM |
| the 05 zin is as good or better than the 04 when we tasted it in barrel in oct. | | | |
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Budman
Philly Suburbs
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 23751
| | 01-15-2007 05:20 PM |
| Agreed!!! We tasted it in August. It was singing already. | | | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts: 9628
| | 01-16-2007 03:27 PM |
| Seesh, I guess I should have been wearing my reading glasses, as I've got a couple mistakes in my original post (which I can no longer edit). The Petite is the 2003, the 2004 will come out in the fall. The price on the 2004 Cabernet 3L is $300, not $350.
2004 Cabernet 500ml priced at $30
2004 Cabernet, priced at $480/case for orders before 3/15, $540 per case thereafter. Also avaialble at $45 per bottle.
2005 Zinfandel, $24 per bottle
2003 Petite Syrah, $35 per bottle, limit of two bottles
Large formats:
1.5L 2004 Cabernet, $100
1.5L 2003 Cabernet, $120
3L 2004 Cabernet, $300
3L 2003 Cabernet, $350 | | | 2008: the end of an error | |
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phlin
Grape Sorter
Posts: 275
| | 01-17-2007 05:54 AM |
| i picked up some of the 04 cab and the 05 zin. anyone know when the 05 vineyard designates will be released? | | | |
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Marco
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2088
| | 01-17-2007 06:08 AM |
| I'll definetly buy a few bottles of Cab and Zin.
The price of the Cab has not increased in 7 years, very unusual these days. The quality is consistent year to year. No blockbuster wines, but solid 90-92 pointers at a fair price. | | | |
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Budman
Philly Suburbs
VinoCellar.com Extraordinaire
Posts: 23751
| | 01-17-2007 09:10 AM |
| phlin... the 04 SVDs will be released this Fall. I suspect that the 05s will follow next fall.
I ordered:
12 - 04 Neal Napa Cab
12 - 05 Neal Zin | | | |
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jflegler
Grape Truck Driver
Posts: 37
| | 01-17-2007 03:24 PM |
| Quote:
i picked up some of the 04 cab and the 05 zin. anyone know when the 05 vineyard designates will be released?
04 SVDs and 04 Petite this fall...they made decision to bottle age all the cabs (NV and SVDs) a little longer than in the past | | | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5251
| | 01-18-2007 04:03 PM |
| Quote:
The quality is consistent year to year. No blockbuster wines, but solid 90-92 pointers at a fair price.
This is exactly why I am passing. These wines are taking yeeeaaaars to develop. And once they do, they peak right at the point level that you have assigned to them. I find that I am taking up valuable storage space on $50 bottles that, if all goes well, will be 91-92 point wines 10 years from now. Space is at a premium, so this type of development schedule doesn't fit for me any more. | | | Beta testing a new signature. | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts: 9628
| | 01-18-2007 04:07 PM |
| Quote:
This is exactly why I am passing. These wines are taking yeeeaaaars to develop. And once they do, they peak right at the point level that you have assigned to them. I find that I am taking up valuable storage space on $50 bottles that, if all goes well, will be 91-92 point wines 10 years from now. Space is at a premium, so this type of development schedule doesn't fit for me any more.
My feeling is that this is actually a bit premature. The first vintage was 1998, and while I haven't had that in a while I have had the 1999 and an arguement could be made that it may still not have reached it's peak. We are certainly years away from seeing the peak for great vintages such as 2001 & 2002, so really, we don't know at what "point level" these wines will peak. | | | 2008: the end of an error | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5251
| | 01-18-2007 04:27 PM |
| Quote:
we don't know at what "point level" these wines will peak
I think that is only partially true. There is always a bit of guessing and estimation when it comes to predicting a wine's development. But comb through thousands of tasting notes from various sources and tell me how many times you see someone write: "A 90 point wine now, but trust me. In 10 years, this will be 95 points easy." It just doesn't happen. And on the rare chance that it does, I have never seen anyone suggest that it will happen with Neal's wines. Don't get me wrong. I am not dissing them. A 92 point wine for $50 bucks is commendable. I just don't have the patience or storage space to wait for these ugly ducklings to transform into swans. My opinion, and it is only that, is that of all the wines that I have purchased in the past 7 years, the Neals are consistently the least drinkable in their early stages. As I get older and space gets more limited, I sway more toward wines that drink well now, but will also develop in the cellar. Thus, my Neal money gets shifted over to Bressler and Match. | | | Beta testing a new signature. | |
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jflegler
Grape Truck Driver
Posts: 37
| | 01-18-2007 04:36 PM |
| I find giving them 8 hours in the decanter makes them sing. I realize that is hard to plan for, but it does work.
Also, the 2004 NV cab was just released at $40 per bottle (if you take a case), not the $50 figure you mention. I think that's worth noting. That's about half of what Bressler and Match charge if I recall correctly. | | | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5251
| | 01-18-2007 04:41 PM |
| Quote:
Also, the 2004 NV cab was just released at $40 per bottle (if you take a case)
This is exactly the problem. I have made case purchases with the past vintages, and now my cellar is (or was, as about 5 bottles were handed out over the holidays) stacked with around 25 bottles of wine that will grow dust until they are drinkable. No more cases for me. If the '04 is a real winner, it will be easy to find at retail for $45. | | | Beta testing a new signature. | |
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jflegler
Grape Truck Driver
Posts: 37
| | 01-18-2007 04:48 PM |
| Quote:
If the '04 is a real winner, it will be easy to find at retail for $45.
This is true and a reasonable position. The only downside IMO is lack of access to the single vineyard bottlings, which may or may not be important. | | | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts: 9628
| | 01-18-2007 05:17 PM |
| Quote:
This is exactly the problem. I have made case purchases with the past vintages, and now my cellar is (or was, as about 5 bottles were handed out over the holidays) stacked with around 25 bottles of wine that will grow dust until they are drinkable.
Yes, but after all, isn't this the point of having a cellar in the first place? To allow wines to age gracefully until they reach their peak drinkability? I'm not trying to convince you by any means, this is an individual choice, and I feel ya - I just did a tally, and I'm a tad shocked to learn I've got 84 bottles of assorted Neal in my inventory, with another 32 on order, very little of which is drinkable today. That's a heck of a lot of wine from a single producer, but I'm confident in the wine's ability to develop and look forward to enjoying these in the years to come. | | | 2008: the end of an error | |
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